The return
by Jasmine Phoenix
Summary: "The dragons will return..." The elder muttered to himself "The end is coming for the whole mer race... not just us Dwemer. What I am doing is far more important than this war... I have seen the end... This is the only hope for the future. The one shall return... The dragon born... And this, this time lapse scroll, this elders scroll will be the end of terror."
1. Chapter 1

_Deep within the earth, the Dwemer elder worked bent double over his creation, his hammering muffed by the noise of cogs turning gears and steam bellowing from the inner most working of the underground city. The elder was so engrossed in his work he didn't even notice the cyborg hover over to him. "Master, I have a message to deliver to you." The elder was muttering instructions to himself paying no attention. "The war has turned to the worse, you are in danger, and you need to leave with the others."_

 _The elder's eyes glazed over the cyborg, "The dragons will return..." He mumbled to himself more than to the cyborg. "The end is coming for the whole mer race... not just us Dwemer. What I am doing is far more important than this war... I have seen the end... This is the only hope for the future."_

 _The cyborg stood by motionless, he had completed his task... The elder kept talking... "The one shall return... The dragon born... And this, this time lapse scroll, this elders scroll will be the end of the terror."_

On the cliff of a mountain a small village stood proud against the elements. Wind blew the softly falling snow off roofs, small flakes found their way into a small toddlers clothes. Serena didn't mind the small cold pricks of the snow flakes; she never truly felt the cold.

She looked in wonder at all the activity bustling around her; she had been placed on the ground as her mother ran away in panic. Screams echoed around the village as a shadow circled the skies. "Run!" Serena heard "Dragon!" Snow melted into rain as burst of fire spread across the terrain. Serena looked around trying to figure out why everyone was screaming, she looked up into the sky at the animal with beautiful wings, it was getting closer and closer, Serena saw two other figures flying with the dragons, it was just a mommy dragon with her babies. Serena spread out her arms and chuckled at the dragon, she wanted to play up in the sky too.

Fire spread from wooden house to wooden house as all the occupants tried in vain to get away. Flames licked at Serena's skin burning away her clothes, she clapped her hands as she marvelled in her naked state in the snow, something she was never allowed to do.

The dragon landed in front of Serena, two baby dragons followed in pursuit eating their cooked meals as they explored the village. "Now, now." Said the Dragon, her beautiful scales shone red from the fire. "What do we have here?" The dragon's babies came closer. "Can I eat it mom?" One of the baby dragons said, the mother dragon tilted its head thinking. "Can _I_ eat it?" Said the other. After a while the mother said "No, this one is not for eating." The baby dragons seemed disappointed but accepted and obeyed their mother. A warm clawed foot wrapped around Serena as she was hoisted up into the air. Exhilaration filled the little toddler as she flew off with the dragons to their cave.


	2. Chapter 2

Serena woke up with a start. She had a dream of her childhood, a memory that felt like so long ago. She could almost still feel the heat of her family and the comfort of their little cave; there absence made her heart ached as if it was a fresh wound.

Something had alerted Serena out of her sleep, for a couple days now she had the feeling she was being stalked. Being out on open terrain didn't aid to her nerves. In the distance a wolf howled, there was something airy about the howl and the fact that she kept coming across wolfs paw prints when she was hunting made her uneasy, it could have been something she brushed off but when she put her foot in the print, the paw print was bigger than her entire foot.

Serena got out of her bed roll and searched the skies, she had been tracking the dragons for many moons and with winter solstice coming she felt as if she was just going in circles and the dragons she had met were in no mood for chit chat, they were violent and territorial, attacking her at first sight and she was getting no closer to understanding them or finding her family that flew off one night without a word. Something was happening in Skyrim, something forbidding and the dragons knew it.

She had heard rumours of a dragon near Whiterun which was close to the mountain she grew up on, her hopes had picked up at news of this and she had camped outside of the city with no sight of a breath or wing beat, no whisper in the breeze of ancient languages.

As Serena was packing up camp to move on her sense picked up on a scent, it was the one that was following her, stalking her. Serena unsheathed her blade expecting the long awaited attack of the wolf, her heart beat fast. She was more than capable of defending herself however the suspense and the size of its paws made her anxious.

"Sheath your sword traveller, I bid you no harm" She heard the voice before she saw a face. A man walked around the boulder and came into view; it was an elderly man with an impressive grey beard dressed in heavy armour. "I am just passing through." The man's wise face reassured Serena and she sheathed her sword surprised at her bad lapse of judgment and she doubted her senses.

"I apologise." Serena said, trying to remember social behaviour, it was so long she had been in human company. "I wasn't expecting someone to be wondering so early."

The man's brow farrowed. "But this is the best time for hunting; I dare say you will find a few of us Companions around hunting. My name is Kodlac, pleased to meet you." Serena wasn't at all surprised that the old man had been out hunting, he was obviously a Nord by his light skin and big build; Nords were tough people till their death.

"Come across anything unusual in your hunt?" asked Serena still retaining her curiosity of the wolf prints, if he hadn't picked it up then there was something suspicious around this city.

"We came across a giant camped not far from here, managed to take him down." Serena looked around for the man's company.

"You say 'we' are your partners still out hunting?" The man looked at Serena "I came across some rather large paw prints, I think there may be a Sabre around not very safe to be hunting alone." Serena lied, Sabre's are common around forestry or mountainous areas and don't rear cities.

"Ah, yes, very observant you are." Said the old man. "You sound like a fine hunter! You should come by Jorrvaskr later today if you are in need of work or a new sword, looks like you could do with one and I have one suited just for you." The old man cleverly dodged the subject of the wolf with the hint of an object any poor hunter would want. "You will be visiting our beautiful city will you not?" He asked.

"I was on my way out to be honest, I was looking for..." Serena trailed off; the dragon's return was a soft subject for most mer races across Skyrim however Serena felt she could trust this stranger. "I was looking for information about Dragon's"

The old man raised his brows in surprise "Well you are in the right city, Whiterun was built to trap a dragon." This information peeked her interest.

As the old man walked off into the city Serena decided Whiterun may be the place she was looking for, a strange sense filled her reassuring her of a dragons presents.

Serena kept glancing up at the mountain towering over the city, the peek was so high up it was above the clouds out of sight, she felt a pull, an intuition of power hidden in its mist.


End file.
